Devil's Promise
by cost of nothing
Summary: His soul has lead to nothing but trouble, so when the devil shows up, how can Erik refuse her offer?
1. Chapter 1

Devil's Promise

A/N: Okay, watch me go and break away from safe, predictable time travel phics. I'm trying to do something more original, so help me out by reviewing!

Angels Deserve to Die

Erik was sore. He was cold. But most of all, he was tired. Tired of living in a world that had the entire deck stacked against him. Tired of dreams that would plague him at night, but never leant any hope during the day. Tired of hopes that lay rotting in the bottom of his heart. Tired of blocking an unjust god. Tired of the burnt out end of his life.

He couldn't keep moving. He had lost his momentum and his music when Christine had left, and now all he wanted to do was die. So he stood, knife in hand, waiting for the final bit of courage to end it.

But he couldn't. As he collapsed onto his chair, Erik finally realized that even at failure he would fail. Now all that was left was the pain.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling of skirts behind him. He was to his feet with lasso in hand in an instant, clinging to the shadows. A young woman no older than twenty walked into his underground home, shining through the dark like a beacon. Her skin was pale but seemed to glow in contrast with the dark brown eyes encircled with heavy lashes. Golden curls fell neatly out of the bun in her hair to just brush the satin sheen of the gold and white dress she wore.

She was absolutely beautiful, Erik recognized, but a little bit unearthly at the same time. She shone just a little too much. Her dress and hair, despite what must have been a long and dirty trip down, were completely immaculate. Her figure was too perfect, her lips too pink, and her hair too golden. Something was wrong.

"Hello, monsieur. I was wondering if you could tell me something," she cooed in an angelically clear tone. An alto, Erik noted subconsciously, but possibly just as annoying as any soprano Prima Donna.

"Are you an angel? For if you are, I have no use for you," he asked completely emotionlessly. Her already large eyes widened even further.

He was expecting an offer of redemption, or even hope. He was expecting to have to break the little things dreams of helping him. What he was not expecting was what he received.

"Of course not, silly Erik," she giggled, "I'm the devil!"

A/N: Okay, so how is it? Please tell me, I definitely need to know!


	2. Sympathy for the Devil

A/N: So who feels incredibly loved? I do! Ah, if only my other stories got reviewed so quickly… (Authoress unashamedly plugs other story.) Well anywho, on with the show!

Sympathy for the Devil

"Of course not silly Erik," she giggled, "I'm the devil!"

At first, Erik was shocked, but as the statement sunk in, he realized the girl was probably some wealthy aristocrat's daughter, sent to be lost so as not to stain the family's reputation. There was something odd and a little imbalanced around the girl's hooded eyes that could almost be construed as dangerous. It was probably best to finish her off as quickly as possible.

He slowly began to move towards her, lasso in hand as he gently allowed, "Of course you are." God it felt good to corner someone again. Like riding a bike. His hands slid to widen the noose slightly.

"Do not patronize me, Erik," she commanded coolly in a completely different tone, "And as for your silly toy, put it away before I teach you a lesson in how to use it."

Erik could feel anger build inside him, but his instincts cautioned him. He folded the lasso tightly and replaced it in his back pocket.

"That's much better," she said in a condescending tone.

"I'm sorry, but I believe I misheard you. You said you were the devil?" he asked, obviously not believing it was possible.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, I said I was the Easter bunny, of course I'm the devil, don't I look it!"

"Well, your not exactly what…"

"Well, you're not what I had in mind either. We all have to live with these little disappointments, don't we?"

Erik made a gesture at her apparel, "This isn't usually what comes to mind at the thought of the devil."

"Oh, so you were expecting this?" she said and without a movement her appearance changed completely. Standing before Erik was the Hollywood version of Satan, red bumpy skin, horns, tail, facial hair, pitchfork and all. Erik's eyes widened slightly, "Or maybe this?" she continued. This time her appearance came very close to destroying his composure. Now, she had returned to her original form, but in a stunning new style.

Her golden hair had turned a velvet black color and though done in the same fashion as before seemed wilder. But what stunned him was the dress. A blood red color, it ended a few inches above her knees and showed no modesty where her figure was concerned. It plummeted to a low V in the front showing an ample amount of skin. The back was just as bad. It fit her tightly, but lay almost her entire back open, displaying a black inverted pentagram tattoo on her lower back. The outfit was finished with smokey eyes and about six inches of heels.

Taking a moment to recover, Erik defended himself. "I wasn't expecting anything, mademoiselle. I don't think anyone would _expect _the devil," he noted synicly. The devil quirked an eyebrow at him. After a moment's thought she smiled.

"I like you. I don't know many people with enough in the way of nerves to talk to me in such a way. You sound like an insolent child," she added after a moment, "That's what they called you though, didn't they. The Devil's Child?"

"What do you want?" Erik asked, obviously exasperated.

"Me? Oh, this and that. Mainly to get a crack at you before he does."

"Who?"

"God," she answered.

"I have no more business with him," Erik said bitterly.

"Then this is going to be so much easier," the Devil replied, crinkling her nose, "Though I really don't see why?"

"If he had given you the passion to create and only the ability to destroy, would you?" he asked her coldly. Her aura turned to ice.

"You forget to whom you speak. If anyone deserves to complain it's me. My potential thrown away to deal with demons and lost causes! If anyone was ever treated unfairly by God, it was me."

A moment's pause followed, of incredibly uncomfortable silence. Erik never thought he would, but he felt the need to apologize to the devil.

Shaking her head and returning to her devil-may-care attitude (can the devil have a devil-may-care attitude?), she smiled. "That man has a temper. I tell you, one little uprising and snap; you're off the A team and into Hell, literally. But that is, I suppose, ancient history, now isn't it? What's here and now is you. I think we can strike a deal."

Erik, who'd been trying to take this all in didn't respond immediately. "What was that?"

Again she smiled. "I want to help you Erik. I have a sense of… empathy towards you that I don't normally get." When he didn't respond immediately, she continued, "I'm offering you your dreams here, a _real_ chance at the world. Not some half chance."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is," she began slowly, "I'm going to give you a face."

A/N: So, was it worth the wait? Please tell me by pushing that enticing little button down there.


	3. Woman of Wealth and Taste

A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry. I'm very, very bad at this whole updating thing. (Avoids well deserved stoning.) I love you all, and I'll prove it with this chapter.

"What I mean is," the Devil began slowly, "I'm going to give you a face."

"A face?" he asked skeptically.

"A little slow on the uptake.." the Devil said, examining her perfectly manicured nails.

"In exchange for what?"

"..but very quick to the point," she finished with a satisfied smile.

"In exchange for what?" Erik insisted. She put up a halting hand.

"Easy there, sports fan. Don't you want to know the details of what I'm offering you?"

"Does it really matter?"

She narrowed her eyes greedily. "Of course it does." Lightening her tone, she perched on one of the up-turned chairs and continued. "Besides, I still have to play by the rules, no matter how easy it would be to cheat them," Sitting down, Erik gave a sigh of resignation and motioned for her to continue.

"Very well," the Devil said in a business-like tone, "What I am offering you is the life you could have had, had you been spared the… unfortunate …facial issues." She drew the word unfortunate out disdainfully, and with a sweep of her hand, the picture of Erik's face, now fully normal, appeared beside her. It hovered near her shoulder for a moment, then disappeared.

"Oh, and when I say life, I do mean _life_. I'm not going to magically heal you and leave you here to live out a murderer's life. You see, the world in general will now have no reason to shun you, and your talent's will have thrived, making you richer than any demanding ghost could ever hope to be."

Erik tried to remain unexcited about the prospect, but a faint glimmer of hope was growing in the back of his mind. "It sounds wonderful," he said, remaining purposefully subdued, "But I ask again, what is this going to cost?"

"Oh, nothing too much," the Devil said, the glint of a cat closing in on its prey in her eyes, "Nothing even that important."

"What, are we to play at Faust? All my wishes for my soul?" he smirked.

The Devil clicked her tongue at him. "Of course not! Why would I want something with so little emotional value? You've given up on that long ago."

This reaction surprised Erik. "Well then, what do you want?"

Erik could tell this is what she had been waiting for. "No one wants the soul of the Angel of Death. But the soul of a wandering child is a completely different matter."

He stood up, completely horrified. "You're not suggesting…" but he could tell by the smile on her face that she was.

"I don't want your soul Erik," she purred, "I want hers."


	4. Stole many mans soul and faith

"I don't want your soul Erik," she purred, "I want hers

Stole Many Man's Soul and Faith

"I don't want your soul Erik," she purred, "I want hers."

Very rarely in his life had Erik ever been horrified. Now he stood, his mouth agape at the very suggestion the woman before him had made. Would he sacrifice Christine's soul for himself? Of course not! He'd let her go, simply to make her happy, why would he ever give up her soul? That self important-

"Hey, sweetie, I can hear your righteous indignation loud and clear."

Gritting his teeth, Erik responded, "Then why don't you _answer_ any of my questions?"

"Well, to be perfectly frank," she said, hopping off the overturned chair, "you weren't being very civil. But, as I've said before, I like you, so I'll set your conscience at ease.

"Does your soul _do _anything? Have you ever seen it or felt it? Have you ever gotten anything from it?" She looked at him expectantly. "No, of course not. That's because a soul isn't nearly as important as He'd like you to believe. You don't even _really _need one to get into His private club up there."

"If a soul is so very worthless, why are you so intent on having Christine's?"

"It's really not _important_ so to speak, it's more of a game, you see. Bragging rights. See how many of 'His' people I can get over to my side."

Erik took a few steps towards the creature of lace and venom. "And if I were to accept your offer, which I am _not_ accepting yet, what would be required of me? How could I give you another person's soul?"

"It's really quite simple, darling," she said, a cigarette appearing in her hand as if it had always been there, "All you have to do is get her to sign this tiny little contract."

A yellowed piece of parchment and magnifying glass appeared in her hand as seamlessly as the cigarette had. Line after line after line of musical terminology, vocal contracts, and the like filled the page. Only after examining the last period with the magnifying glass did Erik find the damning 'And one soul upon time of demise.'

"Trust me, it'd be worth it. A lifetime of fame, glory, acceptance… and I'm telling you a soul is not really such a great thing- what has it ever brought you?"

Everything was at his fingertips. Everything he'd ever dreamed about. His music, his genius, would finally receive the recognition it deserved. And Christine…

"What about Christine? What would happen between… that is, would I still be… at a loss around her?"

"That's really for you to decide, but I should imagine that, knowing all you could offer, she wouldn't be able to turn you down."

Examining her nails yet again, the devil sauntered towards the exit. "You're really beginning to bore me, Erik." As she turned around to face him, he saw her eyes flash red. "So make your choice, are you in or out?"

He looked around at the remains of his home. There was nothing left for him here. There was everything waiting for him if he accepted the offer. And this woman, devil she may be, was right about one thing; having a soul had not given him one thing.

"Goodbye, Eri-"

"Alright, I agree to your terms."

A/N: So you know when I said I'd update… Well, here it is! (only… two… years later) I'll try to be better, honest! The story just left me, and I figured I'd rather wait than send out crap. Well, I hope you enjoyed it!


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